Accordingly when a man is said to have the grace of God, there is signified something bestowed on man by God.  Nevertheless the grace of God sometimes signifies God’s eternal love, as we say the grace of predestination, inasmuch as God gratuitously and not from merits predestines or elects some; for it is written (Eph. 1:5):  “He hath predestinated us into the adoption of children . . . unto the praise of the glory of His grace.”

Reply Obj. 1:  Even when a man is said to be in another’s good graces, it is understood that there is something in him pleasing to the other; even as anyone is said to have God’s grace—­with this difference, that what is pleasing to a man in another is presupposed to his love, but whatever is pleasing to God in a man is caused by the Divine love, as was said above.

Reply Obj. 2:  God is the life of the soul after the manner of an efficient cause; but the soul is the life of the body after the manner of a formal cause.  Now there is no medium between form and matter, since the form, of itself, informs the matter or subject; whereas the agent informs the subject, not by its substance, but by the form, which it causes in the matter.

Reply Obj. 3:  Augustine says (Retract. i, 25):  “When I said that grace was for the remission of sins, and peace for our reconciliation with God, you must not take it to mean that peace and reconciliation do not pertain to general peace, but that the special name of grace signifies the remission of sins.”  Not only grace, therefore, but many other of God’s gifts pertain to grace.  And hence the remission of sins does not take place without some effect divinely caused in us, as will appear later (Q. 113, A. 2). ________________________

SECOND ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 110, Art. 2]

Whether Grace Is a Quality of the Soul?

Objection 1:  It would seem that grace is not a quality of the soul.  For no quality acts on its subject, since the action of a quality is not without the action of its subject, and thus the subject would necessarily act upon itself.  But grace acts upon the soul, by justifying it.  Therefore grace is not a quality.

Obj. 2:  Furthermore, substance is nobler than quality.  But grace is nobler than the nature of the soul, since we can do many things by grace, to which nature is not equal, as stated above (Q. 109, AA. 1, 2, 3).  Therefore grace is not a quality.

Obj. 3:  Furthermore, no quality remains after it has ceased to be in its subject.  But grace remains; since it is not corrupted, for thus it would be reduced to nothing, since it was created from nothing; hence it is called a “new creature"(Gal. 6:15).

On the contrary, on Ps. 103:15:  “That he may make the face cheerful with oil”; the gloss says:  “Grace is a certain beauty of soul, which wins the Divine love.”  But beauty of soul is a quality, even as beauty of body.  Therefore grace is a quality.